Not the Refuge
by anotherfanficwriter35
Summary: Young Jack and Race (fourteen and twelve, respectively)are caught by Snyder and sent to the refuge. But things take an unexpected twist...
1. Chapter 1

Jack felt hands grabbing him roughly from behind. He turned, catching a glimpse of Race, who was on the ground with his hands behind his back. He lashed out, and Jack winced as he saw one of the cops land a blow across his cheek. The pain stunned him, and he was roughly grabbed and thrown into the truck. Jack barely noticed as he was roughly pulled into the cage with Race. As soon as the door was locked, he clambered over to his friend's side.

Race was huddles in the corner with his knees drawn up to his chest. He had wrapped his shackled wrists around them and buried his head down. Jack put a hand on his shoulder as best he could, nearly spraining his wrist in the process. Race cried out, scrambling away from him. Jack's hand came away wet with blood.

"Oh, God, kid, I'm sorry." he said softly. He hadn't realized how roughly Race had been handled. There was a huge gash spanning the length of his shoulder. Race ignored his comment, focusing on his hands, his blue eyes swimming with tears. Suddenly, he began to violently try to pull his wrists apart. His breathing was going faster and faster as his attempts were in vain. Ignoring the pain in his own wrists, Jack grabbed the younger boy's hands.

"Race." he said. There was no response.

"Hey, Race. Stop. You're just gonna hurt yourself. It's okay. I'll get 'em off of you, I promise." Jack let go of Race's hands, forcing his face up, making him look into his eyes. "I'm sorry." he said quietly.

Race's energy dissipated suddenly. He slumped into Jack's side, crying into his shoulder. Jack held the younger boy's hands, which was the best he could do for the time being. "It's okay, kid. You're okay. I won't let anything happen." he said. Race's entire body trembled. Jack felt tears pricking at his own eyes. This was all his fault. And Race was having a full on panic attack because of it.

Jack closed his eyes and laid his head on top of Race's. The younger boy's sobs slowed and finally stopped. He sighed, his breathing evening out. Eventually, a combination of the movement of the carriage and exhaustion carried Race off to sleep. Jack, however, remained wide awake.

After what felt like an eternity, the carriage jolted to a stop. Race snapped awake, his eyes darting around the carriage. As the padlock rattled, the younger boy looked at Jack, his eyes wide and full of fear. "Jack?" he whispered, inaudibly.

"Yeah, kid?"

"I'm scared."

Jack grabbed Race's hand again. "I know. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. You're gonna be okay."

The door to the cage banged open. Race jerked back. Jack put himself in between him and the door. Someone leaped into the cage.


	2. Chapter 2

It was too dark outside to see who had just entered the cage. Jack felt rough hands grab him and pull him to his feet. He was dragged outside. He tried to turn to see if Race was coming, but he could hardly move.

Hoping to cause a distraction and maybe give Race a chance to escape, he kicked out blindly. He felt his foot make contact and heard a shout of pain. Within moments, he was on the ground, his ribs slammed into the dirt.

Jack heard scuffling and muffled shouts from his left. He turned his neck and squinted into the darkness.

Two cops had Race's arms in vice-like grips. He had obviously tried to escape. He had obviously failed. As Jack attempted to stand, he was roughly slammed down again. A glancing blow to his side kept him immobilized on the ground.

He watched in horror as the two cops holding Race threw him to the ground. Two more came from out of Jack's field of vision, wielding short wooden clubs.

He immediately knew what was about to happen. He opened his mouth to cry out a warning, but was kicked away.

The cops beat Race unceremoniously. Every blow they delivered was followed by a cry of pain. The younger boy curled in on himself, attempting to remain composed. He knew that the louder he screamed, the worse the beatings would be. But he couldn't prevent himself from wincing as the cops mercilessly beat his ribs, back, and legs. He tried to crawl away, but the cops circled around him, preventing his escape. The biggest one raised his club above his shoulders and delivered a crushing blow to Race's head.

Jack's heart lurched as the cries stopped immediately. He quickly regained the feeling in his bruised legs and scrambled to his feet. Two of the cops grabbed him and shoved him into the wall. His head slammed against the wall and everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

When Jack came to, he was lying on the floor of a jail cell. There were two cops sitting outside the door, smoking and playing cards. He tried to stand up, but couldn't. He noticed that he had been chained to the wall. The skin around his wrists was rubbed red raw from the cuffs. He resorted to calling out to the guards.

They looked back at him in disgust. Reluctantly, the two of them came up to the door of the cell, peering through the bars.

"And what d'you want, punk?" one of them asked, sneering.

Jack swallowed. "Where's Race?" he asked.

The cops laughed. "Oh, ya friend?" one asked, "the blondie? Oh, you'll see 'im soon enough. Snyder's jus' about through with 'im."

Jacks heart dropped. What were they doing to him? What were they going to do with both of them?

Just then, Jack heard a door clang shut. Two men came in, carrying a small, limp form.

It was Race.

"Now stand back, ya hear me? Or we's gonna have trouble." one of the men said, rattling a set of keys in the lock.

Jack obediently stood against the wall. The man opened the door and threw Race into the cell. He was motionless. As soon as the men were gone, Jack ran over to him.

The younger boy was covered in blood and bruises. He was shaking and nearly unconscious.

Jack cradled his head. His skin was hot to the touch. "Oh, God, kid, what did they do to you?" he said quietly, holding back tears. This was all his fault.

Race muttered something incoherent.

"It's okay. You're safe now." Jack stroked the boy's bloodied curls.

Race's head dropped, and his eyes fluttered shut.

Jack forced him to sit up partway. He cried out in pain. "I know. I'm sorry, I know it's bad. But you gotta stay awake, okay?"

Suddenly, the door to the cell banged open for a second time. Race winced at the loud noise. Jack looked up.

Two men were thrusting Specs into the cell, slamming the door shut. By the looks of things, he had suffered just as bad a beating as Race had. He put up a tougher front, but was covered in blood and bruises.

"Specs, what? How? I-"

Specs slumped down against the wall. "I saw ya get 'napped by Snyder. I was comin' after yous and- they got me." Specs noticed the younger boy nearly unconscious in Jack's lap. "Oh no, what did they do to Race?" he asked.

The boy started at the sound of his name, crying out in pain as he was jostled.

Jack turned back to Specs. "He's runnin' a fever. I don't know what to do. I mean, what if he don't make it? I-"

"He's gonna be fine." Specs said, laying a bloodied hand on Jack's shoulder, "we's gonna get outta here."


End file.
